Tennis fans on social media have reacted to Novak Djokovic announcing his split with Goran Ivanisevic on Wednesday March 27 after six years. He had been working under Marian Vajda before that with Ivanisevic he had been credited with resuming his on-court dominance and changing his serve.
Djokovic has called off the partnership after a poor start to the 2024 season. He suffered a semi-final defeat at the Australian Open and a poor loss to Luca Nardi at Indian Wells against the World No.123. He is currently training for the Monte-Carlo Masters as he looks to return to the clay.
"Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our on court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid," said Djokovic on social media.
"I remember clearly the moment I invited Goran to be part of my team. It was back in 2018, and Marian and I were looking to innovate and bring some serve magic to our duo. In fact, not only we brought serve, but also lots of laughter, fun, year end no1 rankings, record breaking achievements and 12 more Grand Slams (and a few finals) to the count since then."
"In fact, I am proud to say (not sure he is) that apart from winning tournaments together, we also had a side battle in Parchisi going on… for many years. And - that tournament never stops for us. Šefinjo, thanks for everything my friend. Love you."
"I fear this is his #HangItUp szn [season]," the fan wrote. "Wow! Novak Djokovic announces he's parting ways with his coach Goran Ivanisevic. Turns out that losing the Australian Open just a singular time is a sackable offence. 12x grand slams in 5 years is unbelievable, and it's largely due to the changes that he helped to implement," another wrote.
"Shocked and gutted will miss you Goran. Congrats and thank you on fantastic journey with the GOAT."